The Truck Depot Finale
The Truck Depot Finale is the second and last level in Crash Course. This finale sees the Survivors reach a truck workshop where an armored bus (The Survivors refer to it as a truck) is sitting on top of a raised service hoist. In what looks to be homage to the vehicle used in the Dawn of the Dead movie remake, the vehicle has been suitably armor-plated and zombie-proofed so that its users can resist attack and break through theInfected's ranks. To complete the level and finish the campaign, players must activate a generator that will lower the hoist to the ground and thus make the armored vehicle available to them for their usual Get Out Of Dodge escape. There are three problems though: firstly the hoist drops very slowly, secondly the generator is temperamental (it stalls halfway through the stanza and some brave soul has to go out and re-start this "generator for jerks") and thirdly there are the inevitable Crescendo Event dual waves of Infected and Tanks. This finale is particularly difficult for the Survivors because the Infected can attack from virtually every direction and appear on the scene relatively quickly from short ranges: which naturally poses a particularly stiff challenge in the case of Tanks. Strategy * Shortly after leaving the safe room, there is a shortcut which Survivors can use to skip a section of the map. This requires jumping on the alarmed car stuck in between the fence and delivery truck by the humvee in order to get over the barbed wire fence to the top of the truck on the other side. This shortcut will take the Survivors to the metal supply plant loading docks. This method is risky, as the Survivors will alert the horde due to setting off the car alarm and may wish to deal with them before making their way over the fence. It is possible to jump on the truck and avoid setting off the car alarm. This is rather tricky, however and requires jumping at the right spot as to avoid sliding down back to either the ground or the Car, thus triggering it. * A useful setup spot for the finale is with the minigun in the garage. One of the Survivors can get on the minigun and take one spot in the garage spot as the other Survivors takes care of the rest. Close combat is a must here as the Common Infected have a large area to get up to the Survivors' position and can also stream down from the windows. The small window behind the minigun is a common spawning place for Special Infected, especially Boomers and Smokers. Do note that when using this strategy, it will be harder to restart the generator when it fails, especially when fighting a horde. * Another strategy is to be in the rescue closet underneath the minigun, and have two people each cover the ends of the room. When the Tank comes, get back on the minigun, and after the Tank dies, hold out on either the bus, or the platform via stair access, so as to facilitate the generator re-start operation. Repeat using the minigun for the last Tank. *The simplest area to fight from is on top of the bus outside in yard nearest the generator and an ammunition cache. The Common Infected will generally swarm from several places at once, but not from all four sides unless the Survivors are slow at thinning their ranks with gunfire and Molotovs. Special Infected can be picked off from the top of the bus, and the sandbags on top are very useful at preventing players from being dragged off by Smokers. Ready access to ammunition is a self-evident advantage associated with this position. Note that this spot is not recommended for Versus, as human-controlled Hunters can easily pounce from the roof of the main garage for 15-plus damage. An occasionally- experienced drawback is the sprint distance and changes of angles players need to traverse once the vehicle on the hoist is down. Players must get to the door at the back of the escape vehicle in the face of a rapidly re-spawning horde and slow, injured players are thus very vulnerable to interception. Easter Eggs * The armored van is an obvious nod to the armored bus from the famous George A. Romero film remake Dawn of the Dead ''and Dead Reckoning armored bus from '' the not so famous Romero sequel, Land of the Dead ''. *A map found in the starting safe room (see gallery for picture) shows Military Outposts that have either been overrun or are still safe. One will notice that the outpost in Pennsylvania is not crossed out and neither is the one in Louisiana. This is most likely because of the Military Outpost found in Blood Harvest and also to hint at where the ''Left 4 Dead 2 final campaign would be located since Crash Course was released after most of the work on Left 4 Dead 2 was complete. *On the right of the safe house door you can see a message to a man named "Peter". The writer of the message is telling him they finished the truck and will wait for him. This is clearly the armored truck the Survivors use to escape, as they even refer to the graffiti. *In the graffiti underneath the large letter there are numerous quotes referring to popular internet memes. Some of the references include "Cool Story Bro!", QQ (depicting mock sadness, as in crying eyes), "Roses are red, Violets are Blue, You Suck.", and "PS I'M FAT!". Notes .]] * Sometimes one of the two Tanks in the Finale will not spawn. The music will play, but the Tank will not arrive; the music will eventually turn off as if he was killed, followed by the next Horde. * Sometimes, the generator does not turn off during the event. The second Tank dies, then the Skin on Our Teeth track plays and the back door of the rescue vehicle opens, but the generator stays on. It's unusual because turning off the Generator is the panic key of this finale. * When you come to the truck yard over the crashed truck you can see that the tunnel before the yard is closed at all directions. When the Survivors drive away with the bus they drive in this tunnel - now it is arguable in which direction they will drive to escape. * If the generator was not restarted before the second Tank was killed, hordes of Common Infected will attack the Survivors until the generator is restarted. However, no Tanks or Special Infected will appear until the truck is down. A possible exception would be on Advance or Expert difficulty since Special Infected tend to spawn right after the second Tank was killed. * The speed of the lift that is bringing down the truck is noticeably inconsistent. Initially, it would be very slow. However, right after the second Tank was killed, the lift would suddenly move very swiftly and bring the truck down before the horde can attack. This is probably for gameplay purposes as the last horde along with the Tank and Special Infected can easily overwhelm the Survivors should the lift move too slowly. It could also explain why the door behind the truck was destroyed upon being brought to the ground. * If the truck was brought down before the second Tank was killed (which takes a very long time), the door behind the truck won't break until the second Tank was killed. This is to prevent the finale from ending without killing the second Tank as outrunning it would be too easy. * Using the truck jump shortcut in this map will increase the chance a Tank will spawn before the finale by 25%. *If you stand under the truck when it's being lowered after the generator is restarted, you will be incapacitated, but other Survivors can help you up, although you will be immediatly incapacitated again, and be crushed to death. Gallery File:L4d garage02 lots0019.png|Just past the safe house. File:L4d garage02 lots0020.png|Near the train bridge. File:L4d garage02 lots0021.png|Under the bridge. File:L4d garage02 lots0023.png|Just past the bridge. File:L4d garage02 lots0025.png|Getting near the finale. File:L4d garage02 lots0026.png|The truck that leads to the finale. File:L4d garage02 lots0028.png|Outside the finale. File:L4d garage02 lots0029.png|Inside the garage. File:L4d garage02 lots0030.png|Minigun location. File:L4d_garage02_lots0001.jpg|Map showing safe and overrun outposts Category:Crash Course Category:Left 4 Dead Category:Chapters Category:Downloadable Content